Seraphina didn't touch the system for a full minute.
She just stood there.
Looking.
Thinking.
Because this?
This wasn't just a workspace.
It was a message.
Everything was too precise. Too tailored. Too… her.
The screen layout. The software. Even the way the files were organized.
Her jaw tightened slightly.
"He studied me."
The thought sat uncomfortably in her chest.
She stepped closer anyway.
Because of course she did.
Curiosity always won.
The first file opened instantly.
Clean.
Structured.
And very, very illegal.
Seraphina's eyes sharpened as she scanned through it.
Financial routes. Asset movement. Dummy corporations.
Not sloppy.
Not rushed.
Professional.
But now that she was looking at it from the inside—
She could see the gaps.
Tiny ones.
Barely there.
But enough.
A slow, familiar focus settled over her.
"Alright…" she murmured. "Let's see what you're hiding."
"You're looking for mistakes."
Her head snapped up.
Dante stood in the doorway.
Watching her.
Again.
Seraphina exhaled sharply.
"You have a habit of doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Appearing out of nowhere like it's normal."
"It is normal."
"For you," she muttered.
She turned back to the screen.
"You left gaps," she said.
Not a question.
A statement.
Silence.
Then—
"Yes."
Her fingers stilled on the keyboard.
That… wasn't the answer she expected.
She turned slightly.
"You're admitting it?"
"I'm not hiding it."
Her brows pulled together.
"That doesn't make sense."
"It does," he said calmly. "You just haven't figured out why yet."
Seraphina leaned back slightly, studying him.
"You want me to find them."
Another pause.
Then—
"Yes."
Her lips pressed together.
"Why?"
His gaze held hers.
"Because I want to see how you think."
Something in her chest shifted.
Not fear.
Not quite.
But something sharper.
More alert.
"This is a test," she said.
"Everything is a test."
She let out a quiet breath.
"Right. Of course it is."
She turned fully toward him now.
"And what happens if I fail?"
A small pause.
Then—
"You won't."
The certainty in his voice annoyed her more than anything.
"That's not confidence," she said. "That's arrogance."
"Call it what you want."
Silence settled again.
But this time—
It wasn't tense.
It was… focused.
Seraphina turned back to the screen.
"Fine," she said. "You want to see how I think?"
Her fingers moved again.
Fast.
Precise.
She followed the trail, not the obvious one—but the one underneath.
The pattern beneath the pattern.
Her mind clicked into place.
Numbers lining up. Shifting. Revealing.
Time passed.
She didn't notice.
Behind her—
Dante didn't move.
Didn't interrupt.
Didn't speak.
He just watched.
And that should have bothered her.
It didn't.
Not the way it should.
"Found it."
Her voice broke the silence.
She leaned back slightly, eyes still on the screen.
"You rerouted the transaction twice."
A pause.
"First to hide it. Second to see if anyone would notice the inconsistency."
She turned her head slightly.
"You weren't testing the system."
Now she looked at him fully.
"You were testing me."
Silence.
Then—
A slow shift in his expression.
Not surprise.
Something else.
Approval.
"Continue," he said.
Of course he did.
Seraphina rolled her eyes slightly.
"But you made a mistake."
That got his attention.
She saw it.
Small.
But there.
"You accounted for the financial pattern," she continued, turning back to the screen.
"But not the timing behavior."
Her fingers moved again, pulling up another layer.
"People repeat habits," she said. "Even careful ones."
She tapped the screen.
"You didn't change that."
Quiet.
Still.
Then—
"You're right."
Her lips twitched slightly.
"Yeah, I know."
Another silence.
But this one felt… different.
Lighter.
Sharper.
Like something had shifted between them.
"You learn quickly," Dante said.
Seraphina snorted softly.
"I don't 'learn quickly.' I already knew."
A faint flicker of amusement crossed his face.
Gone in a second.
She leaned back in the chair, crossing her arms.
"So what now?" she asked. "You impressed? Should I expect a gold star?"
"No."
Of course not.
"You'll get more work."
She groaned.
"Wow. Rewarding."
Dante stepped further into the room.
Closer.
Not too close.
But enough that she noticed.
"You're not here to be rewarded," he said.
"You're here because you chose to be."
She looked at him.
Held his gaze.
"Don't twist it."
"I don't need to."
A pause.
Then—
"You could have walked away."
Her jaw tightened slightly.
"And you would've let me?"
"No."
She blinked.
"…Wow. Honesty. Again."
"I don't see the benefit in lying to you."
Something about that—
Stayed with her longer than it should have.
Seraphina looked away first.
Back to the screen.
Back to the numbers.
Because that was easier.
Safer.
"Next file," she said.
Trying to shift the focus.
Trying to regain control.
But as she worked—
She could feel it.
His presence.
Still there.
Still watching.
And for the first time—
It didn't just feel like a threat.
It felt like something else.
Something she couldn't quite name yet.
And that?
That was far more dangerous.